Takings and Judicial Deference: Takings Law After the 2004-05 Supreme Court Term (Law and the Appraiser‪)‬

The 2004-05 United States Supreme Court term was one of the most significant in recent years for property rights decisions. Since the "bundle of rights" of property owners is at the heart of what appraisers value, three recent Supreme Court decisions are of more than a passing interest to appraisers. They also offer valuable insights into continuing and troubling intellectual schisms at the Court and markedly different judicial philosophies on such subjects as the role of precedent and when it should be overturned as well as the role of the Court versus Congress in deciding when a compensated taking is permissible. Reading and analyzing the recent takings cases reveals an interesting patchwork of issues and philosophies at the Court, almost certain to change now with two vacancies: